Even post-Christmas Sales were not enough to tempt shoppers to hit the stores, a new report has found. Synovate Retail Performance’s first Retail Traffic Index (RTI) figures for 2009 will make uncomfortable reading for shopping centre managers and retailers alike as the survey revealed the number of shopping trips made to non-food stores in January was down by 3.7 per cent against the same month a year ago, and by 27.9 per cent against December 2008’s figures.

Shopping centres have lost a third of their capital value since the peak of the last boom market, and further falls are on the way, according to new research from Knight Frank.

The proportion of retailers suffering poor financial health has “increased substantially” since the early 1990s, according to business consultancy FSP. Its recent analysis shows that the financial accounts of 40 per cent of multiple retailers, totalling over 13,000 stores, are in ‘very worrying’ shape.